JERUSALEM – Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, comatose for more than four years after suffering a series of strokes, is going home to his ranch, an aide said Thursday.

One of Israel's most popular and controversial figures, Sharon has been in the long-term care unit of Tel Hashomer Hospital outside Tel Aviv since suffering the strokes in 2006.

Raanan Gissin, a longtime Sharon aide, told The Associated Press that "the plan is by the end of the week for him to return home." Sharon has a sheep ranch in Israel's south.

Dr. Zeev Rothstein, director of the hospital where Sharon has been a patient, described his condition as "mini-unconsciousness, meaning he is not unconscious but he is not fully conscious. He needs assistance in all daily activities" and is connected to a respirator, he told Israel's Channel 10 TV.